algoriddim may not like capitalizing proper nouns, but they sure do like to capitalize on unique features of Apple products with their DJ software, aptly named djay. If you already own djay for Mac, then you’d probably be interested in their djay remote app for iPhone, and for good reasons.

If you aren’t familiar with djay, let me give you a brief overview. It is a DJ application written only for Mac that takes advantage of iTunes and special features of Mac computers. If you have a recent MacBook Pro, then you can use multi-touch gestures to perform certain actions in the application, like scratching, fading, etc. The cover art even loads onto, and spins with each deck. It’s really cool. But this isn’t a review of the main application (though it is amazing), this is a review of the iPhone app. So, let’s get to it.

The iPhone app opens up and immediately beings searching for djay software running on a Mac on the same network to which your iPhone is connected. That means in order to get any use out of this app, you need to have a WiFi network that both your Mac and iDevice can connect to. I wish there was a way to do this over the dock connection, but alas, this shouldn’t be a problem, and is actually a feature for most users considering you can walk about the room and continue to DJ a party without losing any amount of control. If you should find yourself without a WiFi connection, don’t worry, you can have your iPhone connect directly, over WiFi, to your Mac, but I won’t go into the details of how to do that here.

After you’re all set up, you have nearly full access to all of the features of djay right on your iPhone. You can scratch, fade, and mix to your heart’s content. The main page gives you quick access to scratching and mixing controls and your entire music library on your Mac. You can browse songs easily on your Mac from the Remote app and when you do load a song to a track, it brings over the cover art with it, just like on the desktop app. If you hit the button to the top right, you can get to levels, loops, cue point, skipping, and effects. These are, obviously, different for both decks. You can specify the deck that you are affecting on the bottom of the app at all times along with access to the mixing fader and the Automix button, which does a great job of mixing for you (especially if you aren’t very good:). Just remember, the audio is coming from djay on your Mac, not your iPhone. This is advantageous because you don’t have to be hooked to anything, you don’t have to worry about loading songs on to your iPhone. Your Mac is more powerful anyway, so the audio quality will be better too.

There are really only a few problems I have with this app. First, you can’t “throw” the deck with any momentum. What I mean is when you’re done scratching, you can’t push the deck harder forward or backwards to get a cool effect while it returns to normal speed. This happens by default on the desktop app, just not from the remote, so I imagine that this is a relatively simple fix. Also, there isn’t any good way of changing the speed of playback, which is a standard control on the desktop app. This should also be a pretty simple future update. And, of course, there isn’t an iPad version…yet. It’s coming, and I can’t tell you how excited I am for that. Hopefully, that will also be a free update, instead of a separate app.

So really, there shouldn’t be much doubt in your mind. If you already own djay and have an iDevice, it’s a fairly easy choice to pick up the djay Remote app. You won’t be disappointed. And if you don’t already own the desktop app but are interested in DJ software, you should definitely give this whole package some serious thought. For less than $60 you can have real DJ software made specifically to work on your Mac. And when you look at the competition, $60 is a steal. Plus, competing software packages don’t currently allow you to control them wirelessly from your iPhone like djay. And soon, you’ll be able to run the whole party from your iPad.

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